The ability to survive of several pathogens was measured in the compost material and leachate produced by composting swine carcasses. The survival of the bacterium, Serratia Marcescens (similar by its characteristics to Salmonella but non-pathogenic) have been studied throughout composting process. The results obtained showed that under most individual farming conditions the composting of carcasses do not present biosecurity risks. In case of serious health outbreaks other measures may be necessary to protect the herd.
The tests were done as part of the broader experiment on composting ( see: The Effect of Sawdust and Straw on Composting Swine Carcasses by the same authors). As mentioned in the other article, the sawdust seems to more adequate as the temperature is higher, conditions more appropriate for pathogen killing. On the other hand leachate may cause problems as results showed that some of the pathogen could survive for at least 5 days. The control of leachates would than be important in order to prevent contamination.